Players
by AnHeiressofaSOLDIER
Summary: "She was a parasite wasn't she? In being with him, she was hurting him. Shiki may have forgiven Neku for his transgressions, but Neku hadn't forgiven himself for almost killing her." Romance, humor, fluff, and a surprise ending.


**Players**

Shiki kept Mr. Mew on the purse of her desk, as she pulled out the homework she'd been given to work on. The seamstress sighed, as she looked at the evil math problems and the way they glared back at her. What she really wanted to do was work on repearing a stitch in her once animated cat's arm. It just wasn't fair that she hadn't been able to fit a study hall into her schedule this year. It was the end of the day, and all the girl wanted to do was relax. However, she knew her strict arithmetic teacher would never allow that. In fact, the blond aged woman was glaring at Shiki now. Her gray eyes seemed to be saying, "I know you didn't finish the assignment I gave you. You'd better work on it now, or I'll dock you even more points on the one yous got wrong."

Shiki slumped down in her chair. She pushed Mr. Mew back more firmly into her purse so she wouldn't be tempted. And pulled her math homework closer to her. She had been about to chew on her pencil, but it was a very good thing she hadn't. With a loud screech, Shiki found herself being dragged backwards in her chair. As it tipped backwards, she hastily vacated the seat, and glared at the person behind her. Neku Sakuraba. Now don't misunderstand her. Normally she loved dear Neku. The bond they'd made in the Reaper's Game was one that would last for the rest of their lives. But since he'd nearly made her fall, and in the process scared her half to death, she wasn't exactly happy to see the math wiz. "Neku, what the hell are you doing?"

People stared at Shiki's outburst. And she instantly shrunk down, embarassed that she'd forgotten they were still in class. Neku didn't say anything. He just gestured to his seat as if that explained everything. Shiki rolled her eyes. He was still a man of many words. Not. The only answer she got was when Neku stole her own seat, and she was forced to take Neku's vacated one. She glared daggers at her Partner. It wasn't that they weren't allowed to sit where they wanted in this class, but she didn't exactly want to make Mrs. Chidori hate her anymore, either.

Shiki sighed, and stretched up high enough to grab her purse and homework from her desk. All that Neku had left on his own desk was his iPod. She glowered at the device. And Neku, who had turned to face her, looked at her bemused. "Put one of the ear buds in, Shiki." She recognized the tone. It was his "I just got pulled into a Game I don't understand, with you, stupid girl. Listen to what I say or I'll ditch you" tone. Well, she was not a stupid girl. Nor did she need his pin genius anymore. So she would not listen. Despite how odd it was that "Phones" was offering her the chance to listen to his iPod. The end of this math class was bad enough. She wasn't going to let Neku make it worse for her. Maybe she should talk to Josh. If he could annoy Neku half as much as Neku was annoying Shiki now, she'd play as many Games as the Composer wanted her to.

Neku growled. And Shiki recognized this as his "I'm going back to emo-Neku, and am wondering why I ever bothered with someone like you in the first place" tone. She looked at him with as much fire in her eyes, as he had in his voice. But what she saw there instantly made her recoil. She gasped. Loudly. And apparently that was the last straw for Shiki's teacher. She wrote Shiki's name on the board, and Shiki recognized it for the warning it was. But at the moment, she couldn't care. Neku's eyes were so blue. So icy. So inhuman. Despite how she tried to argue with herself, she couldn't help but fear the Neku looking back at her now.

Don't kill me.

I have to.

Neku's gaze softened the moment Shiki stifled another gasp. It only led to his eyes becoming horror struck as he realized what she was remembering. "Shiki..." he began. But what could he say? What was there to say? He had almost killed her. He would have gone through with it if Mr. Hanekoma hadn't told him about Uzuki's trick. And he didn't even know if he would have regretted her death. He probably would have just been irritated that Uzuki had lied and that he'd need a new Partner. All Neku could do was show her how he'd been trying to help her. He placed one ear bud in Shiki's ear and the other in his own. He turned the music on for his own sake, but not hers. "Shiki," he said as he kept his eyes downcast and hid behind the collar of his shirt, "You can sew Mr. Mew now. Mrs. Chidori can't see you well behind me. And if she sees the thread, she'll just think it's the headphones' cord. You know she allows us to listen to music while we work, so..."

Ugh. He was rambling now. He never rambled. He rarely even talked unless he was with his friends. And even then he usually needed prompting. He was talking as much as Shiki had when she'd been emulating Eri in the beginning. He wanted to laugh about this with Shiki, but he couldn't make himself tell her. He had no right to make light of the situation. No right to make light of what he'd done. Just like he had no right to beg and plead Shiki to stay if she never wanted to see him again.

Blinking a few times, Shiki looked from the headphones' cord, to Neku, and finally to her purse with Mr. Mew. Oh. So Neku's actions made sense after all! He was actually being rather thoughtful. Shiki smiled a little, and as if coming out of a fog himself, Neku's own small smile lit his face. How Shiki loved this smile. Loved the way the real Neku came through, and his eyes seemed to melt until they looked like the night sky. They were still stormy, but beautiful. The same way Shiki had been the first to see this smile from Neku, she realized that she should have been the first to trust. And she had. She did. She trusted Neku. Trusted her Partner. She always would. "Thank you, Neku." Shiki said as she allowed herself to beam at him.

Neku scratched the back of his neck, and looked at Shiki's name on the blackboard regretfully. "Don't mention it," he said as he looked purposefully away from her. Shiki had know Neku for more than a year now. So she knew exactly how he acted. And even though he was acting as if he'd done it to make up for getting her in trouble, the fact remained that he had brought it up beforehand. He'd thought to do something nice for her just because he could. But Shiki wouldn't press the issue. She was just glad that he'd thought to help her at all. It was more then she'd ever hoped for. How many times in the Game had she thought he hated her? That he'd never trust her? That when they were free, he might kill her just because she annoyed him?

It hadn't been a fair thought. And as Shiki realized that, she was set free. No. Neku would never hurt her. He'd done more then one nice thing for her. Playing the Game an extra two times to save her, of course, being one of them. Shiki blushed in remembering she'd been his Entry Fee. Sure if he'd known Beat or Rhyme longer, it probably would have been one of them, but it was still amazing to think about. Who would have ever thought the ever-elusive Neku Sakuraba would ever notice Eri-idolizing-Shiki? Shiki smiled a little, as she looked at Neku. Finally, she got ahold of herself, and made use of Neku's gift. By the end of the period, Mr. Mew was as good as new. And Mrs. Chidori was none the wiser.

...

The bell rang, and Shiki realized she was disappointed for once. So much for another school day. Now she wouldn't see Neku again until tomorrow. Somewhere along the way, the two's seats moved closer together. Shiki blushed in realizing if she'd moved a little more, she probably would have been in his lap.

"Let's hang back a little."

"Huh?" Shiki exclaimed as she made to stand up. She flailed her arms frantically in a panic. Neku didn't hear what she'd thought, right? They weren't in the UG, after all. And even if they were, Players couldn't scan each other! There was no way! And why would he want her to sit in his lap, anyway? He couldn't. He didn't! Did he?

Neku rolled his eyes at the show Shiki had made. More and more students were leaving, but he needed to wait until Mrs. Chidori was gone. Still, Neku stood up, somewhat roughly pulled his ear bud from Shiki, and put his iPod in his bag. "I'm not speaking in Calculus, Shiki. I said, 'Let's hang back.'"

"Hey! Don't make fun of me for being mathmatically challenged. Besides, you always have both of your headphones on. For all you know, you could be speaking another language. You're being so alien today, Neku."

Neku ignored her taunt, as Mrs. Chidori finally left the room. It wouldn't exactly be smiled upon to leave students in a classroom after hours, but since she had a crush on Neku, he knew she would. And he was right. "Just because she loves RPGs and I'm going to be a graphic designer does not mea-"

"What are you talking about, Neku?"

Said orange haired boy shook his head to regain his bearings. Once he looked at Shiki, he couldn't help but laugh. It seemed she had wanted him to insult her. Well, he wouldn't be one to dssapoint then. He valued his sarcastic responses, thank you very much. But more then that, he valued his and Shiki's easy banter. "I said that those aren't the headphones I usually wear, genius. You say you're into the trends, but how could you miss that change in my appearance? Do you think the school would allow it? Especially since you know it blatantly gives a message that I'm not listening."

Surprisingly, Neku didn't get the retort he thought he would. Instead, Shiki was standing closer to him with hazy eyes, and her mouth slightly agape. It's only then that Neku realizes he'd also moved closer to her durring their discussion. He just hoped he didn't have an equally stupid look on his face. Well, he would if he had been able to care about anything about Shiki's lips in that moment. They just looked so... kissable. And it wasn't the first time Neku had thought this, either. He thought this was finally the right moment, but something out of the corner of his eye reminded him of why they were still here. He frowned sourly. And Shiki pulled away.

"Neku?"

Neku ignored her, as he erased her name from the board, and put his own where hers had been. There. It was only fair, after all. If he wouldn't have been glaring at Shiki, if he hadn't have tried to kill her in the past, she wouldn't have gasped and gotten detention. And despite the "quality time" he'd be spending with his creepy teacher, he could deal with it. He could deal with detention for Shiki. It was nothing like playing the Game three times for her, right? God he hoped so. Especially since Mrs. Chidori probably hated Shiki because of Neku's feelings for her.

"Neku, I think we should go," Shiki said sadly. She'd slung her purse over her shoulder, but she was fiddling with Mr. Mew in her hands. Even the stupid pig seemed sad. Neku contemplated kissing her just so she knew he wasn't rejecting her, but it wasn't the right time. And if anything, it'd just be really awkward now.

"If you think that's best," he said reluctantly. Honestly, it would be for the best. A teacher would find them here and make them leave eventually. And they didn't want rumors to start, but Neku really didn't want to give up his time with Shiki like he knew he'd have to. Junior year was a killer, and the group of friends could only hang out on the weekends due to lack of time. Neku especially missed Joshua (the Composer was hard pressed for time as it was, especially with the new "no weekdays" rule). But he also missed spending one-on-one time with everyone. Especially with Shiki.

Shiki seemed as reluctant to leave the moment as Neku was. But eventually she nodded her head solemnly. And with that, the two students left the math room, and found themselves heading out for the parking lot. But that was as far as they could go. Shiki would take the bus (since she was afraid of cars after her death) and Neku would walk home. He could have driven, of course. But he'd gotten so used to walking around people and ignorning them, it was just habit now. Though, thankfully, he didn't ignore everything anymore. Nor did he hate the world.

The two kids said there goodbyes a bit reluctantly, but eventually it was time to bid each other adieu. Shiki beamed at the back of his head as he looked away. Fortunately, she saw the small smile turn up at the corner of his lips as he departed. She saw that one last smile for her. That one last goodbye.

...

Shiki toed her shoes on in the late night, and it was something she'd done ever since she came back to life. She went to the 104 Building at three every morning. There was just something about that time that called to her. She assumed it was probably because the night (er... morning) was so full of energy and possibilities, despite the lack of people. It reminded her of the UG. It reminded her of what she might have found if she'd gone on to the next life. She was, after all, supposed to be dead. But maybe... maybe she was just trying to prove to herself that she was still alive.

She didn't even have to sneak out anymore. Her parents accepted this the way they'd accepted her story about the UG. She felt bad that she'd ingrained it in them to get up at this time (so they'd make sure she got home safely), but she couldn't change this quirk of hers no matter how hard she tried. So she was thankful when her parents slept through her annual routine some nights. This night was one of them. She made sure she had a bottle of mace and her cell phone. Definitely her cell phone. And she quietly slipped out the front door. The darkness of her house was staggering, but also somehow exhilerating. She hugged Mr. Mew to her, and set off with a smile on her face.

The girl had opted to not where glasses for this outing. Because if she ever did come across a mugger or something, she didn't want her vision to be obscured if her glasses fell off. She imagined she'd probably wear contacts all the time (and not just for this tradition) if Neku hadn't told her how much he loved her glasses. Truthfully, she loved them, too. Mainly because the Game had taught her to want what she had and have what she wanted. But Neku was definitely a contributing factor. She ventured he was also the reason she chose to go to 104. She always thought that it was there, that she'd told him her dream about fashion, that he began to see her as a fellow human being. Someone worthy of his time.

Was it so wrong that she missed those moments when it was just the two of them? When their lives depended on the other? When their heartbeats were one? She missed that feeling. And Shiki was sad in realizing there'd never be anything like it. She'd never be that close to Neku again. And when she finally reached her destination of 104, she ran a hand on the glass window longingly. She could almost see Neku and herself (dressed as Eri) in the store. She wondered if it was possible someone in the UG was there. Perhaps someone that looked like they had? Perhaps she was really losing her mind.

"What are you doing here, Shiki?"

"N-N-Neku!" Shiki blushed, and turned around hastily when she not only saw her crush reflected back at her, but heard his velvety voice. It was amazing that the sense of foreboding increased with his presence. While it was true that she felt safest in his presence, and knew that nothing could happen to her now, she still felt at edge. And it was a nicer version than the one she'd been feeling recently. She felt like she was in the Game again. Neku, after all, was a wild card. Nobody knew what that kid would do. And Shiki found herself drinking the feeling up as much as he could. It was stupid. And most likely derranged, she thought. But at least it reinforced the fact that she knew he wouldn't hurt her again. How had she ever thought that? She was so stupid. That Neku and the one standing in front of her weren't remotely the same, but she still wanted that closeness.

Shiki's breath could be seen in the cold night air. As she stood closer to Neku, it disappeared. Body heat, Shiki thought. But maybe it was because of something else entirely. Shiki put her arms around her chest embarassedly, as that thought seemed to go along with the idea of kissing and sharing heartbeats. God, what was wrong with her?

"I could ask you the same question," Shiki responded a bit harshly. She stepped a bit further away from Neku to make her point, but instantly hated the distance between them. So, like a parasite, she allowed herself to get as close to him as she dared. Her crossed arms pressed into Neku's chest, and he moaned slightly at the brush. This made Shiki blush about ten different shades of red.

It wouldn't be later until the brunette realzed it had been a moan of pain. Instead, Neku hid the fact that he'd been injured rather well.

He removed the headphones he always wore from his head, and put them on Shiki's. The girl blinked, confused. And she was rewarded with the rare sound of Neku's laughter. "I doubt it's as warm as ear-muffs, but it will save your ears from freezing off. Hopefully." It's only after he says this that Shiki realizes her ears had been freezing. One of the problems with having short hair, she mused. And the rough headphones, who's fuzz had come off long ago, would probably only serve to make her ears more red, but she wouldn't complan. Not even about her cold, cheery nose.

"So what are you doing here?" Neku asked nonchalantly, as he slouched with his hands in his pockets. "Is there a new trend that you have to camp out to see before anyone else?" And though he asked, Shiki knew he didn't believe it. If there was a new trend, Shiki and Eri probably would have dragged everyone with them. Hell, even the Composer would have gone to give his Reapers new ideas for missions.

Shiki decided not to comment. At least not until she knew what to say. Instead, she thought it best to turn Neku's own question back on him again. And she also realized she needed to step away from the 104 Building before sirens went off. As if reading her mind, Neku seemed to pull out the store's alarm system from nowhere. "What the-" Shiki stammered.

"It's nice to have the Composer of Shibuya as our friend."

Catching on, Shiki smiled gratefully. Apparently, Joshua had thought to save them from getting arrested. And even though she didn't know if he was in the RG anymore (he had to have been at some point to give Neku the alarm system) or UG, she hoped he was near them somewhere, when she clapped a hand over her mouth and exclaimed, "Thank you, Josh!"

Shiki's only response was a laugh, creepily similar to Joshua's, from Neku. And then, not from Neku, she heard from behind her, "You're very welcome, dearests."

Shiki "eeped" as she quickly turned around to see the human looking Joshua. She fell on her behind in her quick spinning, but got up just as soon. She placed a hand over her pounding heart, and glared at Joshua. He looked even more ominous then usual with the darkness of the early morning contrasting with his light features. He smiled devilishly, and then, in all seriousness, "Ferret out why Neku's here, won't you, Shiki?" he said. And before she could respond, the Composer of Shibuya was in the UG again. But Shiki could swear she could still hear his tinkling laugh even then.

"Damnit, Josh!" Neku protested under his breath. As Shiki returned her attention to her Partner, the way he was shaking, angry, and clearly trying to hide something, finally made itself known to Shiki. Especially the small speck of blood on his shirt.

Shiki was at his side instantly. Prying his hands and collar away, as he fought her every step of the way. "Neku, what happened? Why are you here?"

"Get off of me, Shiki! Stop bringing me down! I don't need you!"

"Oh, Neku..."

She was a parasite wasn't she? In being with him, she was hurting him. Shiki may have forgiven Neku for his transgressions, but Neku hadn't forgiven himself.

As Shiki saw the blood dissecting his chest, she almost wished that anyone else had done it. Even his parents! At least that would make some sense, but Shiki could not understand how Neku could hurt himself. And as Shiki's brown eyes seemed to turn from mud to dirt, as they hardened, Neku's turned to crystal clear water. His eyes brimmed with tears, and there was no denying what he'd done. A small dusting of snow began to fall on the two teens, and Shiki quickly covered up Neku's exposed skin. She didn't want the snow to infect his cuts or something. "I think we know how to hang out with Josh now. If we put ourselves in danger somehow, he'll-"

"It's not a joke, Neku!" And Shiki's shocked by the sound of her own voice. She sounded like him. Like the old Neku. The Neku she hated. But the death of that Neku had caused her Neku to do this. What was the answer here? "Don't you dare make a joke about this!" There it was. That was more of the response she thought she'd have. Tears prickled at her vision, but she fought them. She couldn't let Neku feel guilty in any way. It was his guilt that had made him spiral out of control, already. How could a good day go downhill so easily?

Neku just watched Shiki, and she hated the admirance in his eyes. One, because it was the way she used to look at him. She'd been awed by his strength with pins, his cleverness, and strength in the Game. It seemed wrong that he should look at her this way. But more than that, it's the way she used to look at Eri. That had ended oh so well. At least she hadn't hurt herself over it (minus accidentally getting hit by a car and dying when Eri seemed to have shattered her dream). "I know it's not a joke, Shiki. But I can't help it. I almost erased you. Killed you. And then I got you thrown back into the Game. And I can't take it- I have to do something."

Shiki groaned, as she headed for the Scramble. She wasn't really sure why she was going there. But she just had to keep moving. Maybe she thought in that way an answer would show itself. She buried her face in her hands, as she wondered how she'd missed this. Neku followed her, of course. She felt bad for having left him behind like that, but she needed to think. How was it that it seemed they'd now switched their roles from the Game? Suddenly, Shiki wanted nothing to do with the Game, but her new friends. Joshua had trusted her with setting Neku straight. He'd even laughed like it'd be easy. But she didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to deal with this! Neku wasn't being emo in hurting himself. He was being human. Maybe that was the answer all along.

Neku laughed. Shiki looked at him as if he'd gone mental before she could reign herself in. "This is... this is where we always woke up for our missions."

"You're right!" the girl that was foregoing glasses agreed. She peeked at Neku from the corner of her eyes, and saw a smile on his face. That wasn't a good sign. If he was smiling despite the harm he'd caused himself, it could only mean he was going as unhinged as Joshua. But then, maybe they were all unhinged. Her quirk was. But she was more thankful for it now than she'd ever been. It led her to figure out an important truth about Neku.

Well, if he was smiling why couldn't she? As Rhyme would say, "Anything's possible when you have a positive outlook." Neku cutting himself because of his regret for almost killing her was not positive, but maybe if she thought positively, she could find the easy solution Joshua had hinted at. She was a bit irked that Joshua hadn't told anyone about this until now, but she trusted him. Surprising herself, Shiki hastily kissed Neku on the cheek. He blushed, and seemed to be resisting the impulse to wipe his cheek, but he still smiled.

"Neku," Shiki said as she mirrored his posture of crouching down, "what you're feeling is what it means to be human. It's the price of feeling. But it's a worthy price. If we didn't have the bad, we wouldn't have the good. But you can't hurt yourself over it. That's not right. Just because we wanted to claw our shared pain out of us durring the Game doesn't mean-"

"That's actually why I did this."

"Huh?" Shiki screeched, before she got a handle on her voice and reaction. More level-headedly, she squinted an eye shut, and said quietly, "Huh?"

"It was stupid, I know. But I miss having a shared heart. And after I almost killed you, that's when our connection began. I thought- I don't know what I thought, actually. But I guess I just wanted to recreate the Game." Neku turned around from her (more like scampered with how they were sitting), and Shiki recognized it as his "embarassed/shy-Neku" stance. Suddenly, the plushie loving girl was beginning to think she'd miscalculated. She would kill Josh!

Shiki tapped Neku's shoulder. He completely ignored it the first time. The second time he shrugged her off. The third time, he whirled around preparing to yell, "What?" He never got that chance.

Shiki used his open mouth to her advantage, as she tangled her hands into his ginger hair, and pulled him to her. The kiss was a little sloppy at first. Mainly because of their awkward positions, and that he'd been about to say something. They were both shocked by their actions, but soon they forgot about it. Shiki lost her balance, and fell atop Neku on the ground. And neither could think about how many times they'd woken up irritably on that same spot durring the Game. People were waking up and beginning to walk around them, but no one paid them any mind. It was like they were in Joshua's Game again!

Neku tucked a piece of Shiki's hair behind her ear, and circled an arm around her waist. Shiki's hand was on his heart that was beating in time with hers, and awkwardly elbowed him in the jaw with her other arm. But it didn't ruin the passion. As their lips melded, locked, and held together, it reminded them of how they'd stayed together in the Game despite their odds. Yes, the pain in his jaw only made it better. Finally they pulled away gasping, and Shiki blushed. She stole Neku's jacket away from him as she sat up before him, and hid behind the collar of it. Maybe they were Partners again. She was acting like him.

Suddenly, the two teens wondered what they'd been waiting for. The moment hadn't been perfect. It had probably been flawed. It was definitely spur of the moment, but it probably made it better. Nothing planned to the finest detail could have been like that.

"What was that?" Neku asked her with an evil smile on his face. His eyes were narrowed triumphantly.

Shiki really didn't want to answer, but she had initiated the kiss. And it was only fair that she finally answer one of his questions. "Sorry. It's just that I was after the same thing. I always come out here at three trying to recreate the Reaper's Game. Our desires were just so alike, you know. And I guess... I guess that unleashed my desires." She was looking on the ground at that last part. As she felt the weight of his stare on her, Shiki wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

"I see." Neku said thoughtfully, as he drew a hand to his chin. "Well, that makes a lot of sense. Since I usually come out here at four, it seems I just miss you."

Suspicion coiled in Shiki's stomach like a snake. Was that what Josh had been on about? Or had he purposefully made her think Neku'd been hurting himself? Did he know she would have second guessed her actions if she hadn't been desperate to help? And why was he so interested in their love life, anyway? "Neku, what's on your shirt and chest?"

Neku looked down curiously. And as light began to filter around them, Shiki could tell it was, in fact, not blood. But why would he have been hurt when she'd bumped him then?

Neku looked sheepish as he noticed what Shiki was talking about. And then he set her with a look that seemed to say, "You tell anyone this, and you'll never see piggy again." Instead, he said, "I actually still have a portable CD player. It seems when I pulled my ear bud from you this afternoon, I pulled too hard and damaged my iPod. I dug out my old CD player, but I got battery acid on me. It burnt me like a bitch!"

Shiki kissed Neku again, and he was shocked once more, but he was quick to give into the movement of her lips against his. When she pulled away, he inquired as to the reason again. And Shiki simply said, "I'm planning to kill our friend the Composer and need help." As Neku's fingers twined with hers, she thought she'd found the help she needed.

The sun was bright and welcoming in the sky now. Shiki found herself dreading the school day, but looking forward to their shared math class. It would be interesting.

Only after they'd left did the threatened Composer switch planes. He patted himself on the back and said, "Well done, players. Well played."

**Author's Note: So, I really hope this story worked. It was supposed to make you think one thing and be another. Neku never hurt himself in this. Shiki just thought that and Joshua encouraged it. Neku was only doing what Shiki did, and going to 104 in the morning for the same reasons she did. He has no idea what she was thinking he'd done. He thought she'd figured out what he was up to, and was telling him not to beat himself up (mentally) in trying to recreate the Game. He also might have thought, at first, she meant getting up early all the time would effect him negatively. And he thought Joshua was trying to tell Shiki about how he'd hurt himself, accidentally, with the acid. Anyway, you might want to re-read this if you didn't get it the first time. But if you're really confused, feel free to ask me your questions.**

**Gosh, I want to know what Neku would do if he knew what she'd been thinking!**

**I love you, Josh. You're so clever! And your plan finally got them together. Yay!**

**"She could almost see Neku and herself (dressed as Eri) in the store. She wondered if it was possible someone in the UG was there. Perhaps someone that looked like they had? Perhaps she was really losing her mind." This is talking about Sora and Kairi. It's a joke since the four all look alike (at least when Shiki looks like Eri). Since Neku's being in KH: 3D, I thought to put that in. Maybe Shiki was looking into the UG and somehow saw Sora and Kairi in Shibuya. LOL. And, yes, I know Kairi might not even be in 3D, and Sora and Neku are playing it at Traverse Town, but whatever.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first Neku/Shiki, and I hope to write more. Expect a Joshua/Rhyme soon. I love that pairing, too. And though I wrote one for them first, I wanted to post this story first.**

**And sorry for any typos. I miss Microsoft Word! I've combed over this a lot, but please excuse any mistakes I probably didn't notice. And my italics seemed to disappear somehow. Oh well. I guess they're not really needed.**


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